Last chapter just for now. This story is listed as 'complete', but I'll add one more chapter if I get enough reviews.

This chapter was awkward to write. I had so much trouble with the ending - it frustrated the hell out of me. I suck at fluff, and I suck at writing fluff without making the characters out of character.

I really have nothing much to say other than...

1. My next story involves Death the Kidd and Shinigami. Shinigami writes letters to his future heir (Death the Kidd) when he was his son's age, during a time when everything changed. You'll have to read it, it'll be awesome. It'll be called 'A Rainbow's Shadow'.

2. I love you all. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Ki

Do Re Mi

The small apartment the small building on the small street in the small city...

It was NOT quiet.

Vibrations sung through the morning air, tapping the walls and floors and ceilings. Quick fingers dashed from key to key, outrunning the speed of sound. Only a skilled pianist could accomplish this wonder, as the amateur artist lay silent on the couch. The music alleviated Maka's headache, celebrating the completion of school registration and back to school shopping. The new technique, Dark Hunter, allowed her to take Maintenance I instead of Partner Resonance III. She recalled that Maintenance I meant she had skipped two levels, and was now taking a class for those pairs already containing a death scythe. Her and Soul were only two of the four people attending that class, which was only once a week, but still carried along with it a burden of intense studying.

The music halted in its footsteps. Maka's eyes remained closed, even as her headache slowly returned. A sudden gentle kiss on the cheek caused her to turn her head slowly. She gazed into the eyes of her lover, and prepared for the words she had recently heard much more often than usual.

"I love you," Soul whispered into her ear.

Maka closed her eyes again and nodded. "I know."

Soul sat at on the floor next to the couch. He said, "School starts tomorrow. How do we tell the others?"

"Well," Maka placed a hand on Soul's bush of white hair, still half sleeping. "We could get together with them tonight. Black Star and Tsubaki just came back from Japan, we can arrange something."

Maka's hand slid down to Soul's cheek. He shielded it with his own hand and asked, "What about Kidd, Patty, and Liz?"

Maka barely shook her head. "Last I heard from Liz, she was complaining how Kidd won't come out of his room. Shinigami-sama hasn't looked too enthusiastic either."

"I wonder if something happened," Soul commented.

Maka lifted herself up to a sitting position. She sighed and stared at the ceiling for a while. She wondered how they were going to tell their friends. Maybe just the casual walk around and see if they figure it out. But maybe that won't happen, since the three partners were all in different classes this year. She recalled that classes were very specific in the last year, according to skill level and type of weapon. So it wouldn't help. Maybe she'd call Tsubaki tonight and tell her everything, but she didn't want Black Star finding out before school and peeping through their window all night, even though he wouldn't see much action.

Eh, no one has to know. So Maka chose to just keep things calm. Even so, she still wanted to spend some time with them tonight - a get together before the next day, when the opportunity to hang out would decrease drastically. Maka suggested, "Like I offered before, let's do something with Black Star and Tsubaki tonight."

Soul brought himself up to the couch and said, "I don't know. I had something else in mind."

"Hm?" Maka grew interested. She repositioned herself on the couch, crossing her legs and facing Soul.

Soul ignored this and dared not look into her eyes. He knew what her reaction would be at this suggestion of his. He was sure. He suddenly became uncomfortable. With hesitation, he took her hand tightly, "We should go somewhere... just... the two of us."

Maka lowered her head in thoguht before pointing out, "But our friends..."

"Yeah! Yeah! Nevermind," Soul took back the suggestion. "You're right, I'm wrong. Sorry, that wasn't cool." He got up and walked to his room in silence, closing the door behind him.

The tired Maka shook her head and went to her own room to change. She needed some air. Maka quickly changed into a light blue tank top with the letter G on it, and a pair of grey shorts. She fixed her hair into her usual pigtails and slipped on sandals.

The air outside was crystal clear. There was a slight breeze, which helped cool down the summer heat. The morning was the best time of day to hear some of the birds chirp. EVen though the birds' music was lovely, Maka couldn't help but sympathise with her partner. Poor Soul, she thought sadly. He only wanted a date. Maka turned the corner and saw a construction site in place of the demolished building. The construction hinted at the new structure would be three times as big and tall. She spotted a chubby red head man directing some workers to the left. She walked over to him and asked, "What are they building here?"

"A music hall," The man stated proudly. "You know what was here before?"

Maka nodded as she shoved her hands in her shorts pockets. "A bar and a gift shop. Didn't they both close two years ago?"

"Hey, kid, how'd you know?" The man asked.

"Heh," Maka chuckled. "My weapon and I kind of took the job of demolishing it."

The man turned to her and gasped, "So you two were the ones!" Maka nodded apologetically, but the man let out a roar of laughter. "Oh, it's okay. In fact, only if you were a bit older, I'd be making y'all work on the new structure to make up for all the money we lost!"

Maka shrugged her shoulders and gave a weak smile. Thank Shinigami-sama they were still just fifteen.

"Don't worry 'bout it," he continued. "This theater is going to be one hell of a topic here in Death City. All those people playing their songs at that darn park will get a chance to play on the big stage."

Excitement rushed through Maka's veins. A concert hall! She bowed to the man and apologized once again before running back home. She got to the apartment and burst through the door.

"Soul! Soul! They're making a place for concerts just down the street!" Maka's expression hardened. Of course, the news was exciting, and she was jumping in joy, but her current vision made her knees weaken and her joints loosen. The image in front of her made her eyes widen. She froze.

Soul looked up at her in confusion. He asked, "Something wrong? What's this about a music hall?"

Maka stood speechless in the doorway. After a while, she managed a weak, "Nothing." Her stiff feet carried her to the piano bench, where she sat facing Soul, who was on the couch. There, she had a clear view of his chest, something she knew she had to be calm about. His shirt hung lifeless on the doorknob of his bedroom. She cleared her throat and repeated herself, "They're building a theater."

"I know," Soul mentioned matter-of-factly. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch. "I ran into the old man on my way to the store yesterday. He told be all about it."

Maka sighed, "But you didn't tell him we took apart the old building."

"Nope. Only an idiot would tell him," Soul said. He swung his legs onto the couch so that he was lying on it. "What are we doing tonight?"

"Making snowmen," Maka replied sarcastically. She got up and picked up the hand-held mirror from the new coffee table. She announced, "I'm calling Tsubaki."

Soul knocked the mirror out of her hands. He justified his action by stating, "Just you and me. Tsubaki won't be available tonight. Neither will Black Star."

"How do you know this?" Maka asked.

"Black Star called when you were gone. They haven't completed registration yet. Haven't they been in Japan all summer?" Soul reasoned. He leaned over the table and pulled Maka to him by her skinny wrist, sitting her down next to him on the couch. "Besides, we need to relax today. No going anywhere that's not walking distance from home."

Maka nodded. He had won. She really did want to spend some last minute time with Soul before school. And Tsubaki was probably freaking out about registration. She didn't want to interrupt her, not when Tsubaki could be really stressed out right now.

"Alright," Maka agreed. "Where to?"

"I don't know - we'll figure that out later," Soul said.

Maka shrugged and got up to go make lunch. It was almost noon, and she hear feel her stomach growling. Before she disappeared into the kitchen, she turned back to look once again at shirtless Soul, the faded scar dividing his chest in half. She groaned as she knew she had to get used to it. Once inside the kitchen, she began to boil some water and take out some plates. She didn't know exactly what to make - only that she was hungry.

Suddenly, she felt bare arms wrap around her torso. She placed the plates down on the counter and turned around, still caged in his arms. She asked, "Are you trying to rub it in my face the fact you're walking around the house without a shirt on?"

"No," Soul replied. "I just feel like holding you."

Maka moaned.

Soul pressed his forehead against hers. "My meister's been somewhat avoiding me lately. What happened? Why haven't you been your touchy-touchy self lately?"

Dammit, he was right. Maka was so stressed about registration that she had stopped truly acknowledging him. She had begun to figure that if Soul wasn't the contact-type, then she shouldn't be. She said with annoyance, "Why do you choose now to be like this?"

Soul shrugged and confessed, "I guess I just kind of..." he paused, thinking of a way to get his message across without feeling awkward about it. "I kind of miss you..."

"But I'm here," Maka said in confusion.

"Not really," Soul argued, hesitating to press his nose against hers, breathing onto her upper lip. Maka blushed as his lips crept closer to hers. Her pulse sped up. She knew exactly what was coming. "You've been awfully independent lately. I don't like that." She pulled away without letting him kiss her. Soul looked away in hurt. "I'll make lunch. It's cool." He let go of her and gently pushed her out of the kitchen.

Maka groaned. What did he mean by independent? She sighed and went to her room, where she moped around for the next five hours. She rejected her partner's lunch and dove into deep thought.

Soul had changed a bit. Just a month or two ago, he would twitch and squirm whenever she leaned on him when they watched TV or something. Now, he was walking around shirtless as if they were newlyweds. She even recalled catching him after he had weighed the pros and cons of having sex with her. Soul's actions just plain confused her. Maybe if that was the case, he was confused himself. She noticed he had been starting to open up a hell of a lot more, though, so maybe he had started to figure things out. Maka rolled over on her bed. Now she needed to figure things out.

And her deep thought turned into deep sleep.

Maka... Maka...

It's okay Maka.

Be yourself. Only yourself, and no one more.

Slits of light poured into Maka's vision. The lights weren't too bright, for they were only as dim as candlelight. A smell swirled in the air - a scent of trees. A hand against her back lifted her up in a sitting position. The slits became bigger, and a concerned face looked down upon her.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Soul's voice rang through her ears.

"Huh?" Maka's blurry eyesight sharpened. The environment around her became clear. Wooden flooring, a giant chandelier hanging by a silver chain in the center the ceiling, candles' lights creating a streak of fire in front of thousands of empty seats. And to the left, the most beautiful piano standing on top of the world, giving power to the wonderful world of music. She quivered, "S-Soul... where are we?"

"Shh..." Soul hushed her. "Your performance is being waited upon."

Maka got up and gasped. "Who's my audience?"

Soul helped her stand up, careful not to wrinkle her black dress. He led her around the large instrument and sat her down on the bench.

Maka gazed speechless at the ruby keys splattered with black speckles of blood. Soul's hand crept around her body and his hand gripped hers. He whispered seductively in her ear...

"Me."

The piano let out a roar of sounds as Soul guided Maka's fingers like a puppet. Black waves of insanity crackled in the air. Maka gasped for air as Soul's hands moved hers at light speed, causing her hands to grow weak. If Soul hadn't had a firm grip, she would have not been keeping up. Fear slowly engulfed her as she became lost in the crazy notes of the piece Soul had played to her when they first met. Maka grew dizzy.

"Are you tired?" Soul whispered in her ear, not missing a note. "This is your stage, after all." The empty seats cracked and crumbled to the ground, leaving the floor a mess of collapsed chairs.

Maka's eyes wondered the piano in exhaustion, "Please... stop... Soul..."

But he didn't.

"What are you doing Soul?" Maka sobbed. "What's going ON???"

The piece ended with a loud bang upon a random set of keys. Soul's hands relaxed and fell upon her wrists. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Maka slid her hands away from Soul's and buried them between her knees. She lowered her head and asked, "I wanted this, didn't I?"

Soul nodded and looked around. He said, "You're dreaming Maka, but I'm real. This is what you imagine that new concert hall to look like. And you want me to play that song. For everyone. And you want to play with me."

Maka nodded. He knew.

"But when I finally let you play... you let the fear get the best of you and you froze," Soul explained. He sat on the bench next to her. "You got what a lot of people call 'stage fright', yet your only audience was me."

Maka looked at him with confusion. He looked into her eyes. "Kind of like how we've been acting as boyfriend and girlfriend. You wanted me to show you lots of affection, though I felt scared to let you have it. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to make you do things you didn't want to do or experience. And part of that was because I'm really wasn't a touchy guy. It was uncool."

Maka nodded as he continued, "But when I finally let you have to chance to kiss me... you freeze. I think... I think the problem here is that you fear me. You fear I'm going to hurt you."

Maka shook her head violently at the statement and buried her head in Soul's shirt. "That's not it at all! I'm afraid to lose you! I'm afraid I can't keep up with you. You're a fucking idiot if you think I'm scared of you, Soul - I'm scared of MYSELF!" The scenery around them shifted from the insanity-filled theater, to a endless field of dead grass under a grey sky. They sat on the grass, Maka weeping in his arms.

"Ug... not cool, Maka," Soul stated calmly, hugging her head to his chest. It all made sense. He remembered when she was afriad their love had ruined their partnership, and how she was overjoyed it only strengthened it. She was afraid it was her fault. She was afraid of herself. "Maka, you've done nothing wrong."

"Everything."

"Nothing."

Maka looked up at him and managed a smile. Soul touched her cheek and said, "So if I try to kiss you now, you won't try to resist, right?"

Maka shook her head. He leaned forward, careful not to hurt her, and pressed his lips against hers. At that moment, Maka awoke, jolting up from her bed. Her room proved empty. No Soul.

She got up, noticing she was in her pajamas, and came out from her room. She found Soul sitting at the dining room table, staring into space. A glass of milk sat in front of him. She sat down at the table, pulling a chair to sit right next to Soul.

He said, "I hope that's how the theater will look like. You know, except that weird looking piano."

"So it was real," Maka said.

"Yep," Soul nodded.

Maka smiled and leaned onto his shoulder. She told him, "I love you."

"I love you, too."